1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an outdoor umbrella, and more particularly to an outdoor umbrella which comprises a power supplying system for selectively switching a power supply of the illumination system of the outdoor umbrella.
2. Description of Related Arts
A conventional outdoor umbrella usually comprises an awning, a main supporting frame comprising an awning frame and a central post frame, and an illumination system supported on the main supporting frame for providing illumination towards an underneath of the awning. In order to provide electricity to the illumination system, the outdoor umbrella further comprises a power system mounted on the main supporting frame to electrically connect with the illumination system. The power system may be embodied as one of the followings: first, the power system may comprise a battery unit (which is usually rechargeable) mounted on the main supporting frame for providing electricity to the illumination system; second, the power system may comprise a solar energy collection system supported on the main supporting frame for collecting solar energy and converting the solar energy into electrically energy which is then transmitted to the illumination system.
A major disadvantage of the above-mentioned conventional outdoor umbrella is that there is no guarantee that the solar energy collection system can always store sufficient amount of solar energy during daytime so that the illumination system may not work properly as a result.
As an attempt to mitigate the above-mentioned difficulty, there exists another kind of outdoor umbrella which comprises an AC powering system for allowing the user to acquire electrical energy via an external AC power source. Yet the disadvantage of this latter kind of convention outdoor umbrella is that when the outdoor umbrella is utilized in outdoor environment, the user can hardly find an AC power socket. Even if the user can successfully find an AC power socket, the power cable connecting with the outdoor umbrella may not be long enough so that the user may have to shift the location at which the outdoor umbrella is utilized for acquiring the AC electrical power.